A Russian man in pre-trial detention for organizing trips for LGBT+ people has been found dead, a rights group and Russian state media reported on Sunday.
Andrei Kotov, director of the travel agency Men Travel, was indicted last month for “extremist activities”, while the Russian Supreme Court banned what it describes as the “international LGBT movement” at the end of 2023, paving the way the possibility of legal proceedings against those who are accused of adhering to it.
According to the human rights NGO OVD-Info, which cites Andreï Kotov’s lawyer, investigators claimed that the latter committed suicide at dawn on Sunday, during his pre-trial detention.
Still according to this organization, Andreï Kotov, aged 40, said he was beaten during his arrest last month.
Russian state news agency RIA Novosti also reported that Andrei Kotov committed suicide in prison.
Russia has increased repressive laws against LGBT people in recent years, seeing in this ultraconservative line a continuation of the fight against the West, whose values and way of life are described as “decadent” by President Vladimir Putin.
